Nothing Stays The Same
by Wendigo
Summary: Li and Sakura are older now and the Clow Cards have all been capture but enemies still linger. When Sakura loses something she can never have back, everyone reunites for one last battle.
1. Broken Grounds

Wendigo-Hey it's me…the author here

Wendigo-Hey it's me…the author here. Just a warning, this is definitely an S+S fic and actually the first piece of fanfiction I've ever finished. (ducks as characters from other stories throw sharp projectiles at her) See what I mean? My third story and it's the only one I've finished. Sad, but true. Anyways, this is meant to be a short story but I know it won't be so again you have been warned! If you like it, review and maybe I'll write some more. (holds up a shield as characters from other stories try to impale her with spears) Or maybe I'll just finish the other stories…

NOTHING STAYS THE SAME

Chapter One-Broken Grounds

It was really warm out today, even though the sun was setting and there was a slight breeze, but Sakura was still warm. As her and Li walked down the street, admiring the sunset in front of them, she couldn't help but think that things were different now.

Elementary school had passed just as fast as the first part of high school and now she was seventeen and had blossomed into a beautiful young woman. Sakura had so many plans for her and Madison, for the summer before they would enter their senior year, but Madison's mother had begged to differ. Sakura's best friend had already been in Paris for over a week on vacation. But things had begun to change for Sakura a lot far back in time.

The change really began when all the Clow Cards were finally caught and she had changed them into Sakura Cards. Li left to go back to Hong Kong, they're unspoken feelings remained just that-unspoken. Her and Madison entered Junior High and then finally High School and they both discovered how boys could be more than just friends. She hadn't even spoken to Li until he returned halfway through their freshman year, but ever since then, they couldn't be torn apart. They were the best of friends and Madison was more thrilled then ever, but still got frustrated over the fact that they weren't together yet. Sakura and Li were too dense to do anything about it.

Finally during last year was when Meilin returned and everything was back the way it was during the fourth grade…well, minus the capturing of the Clow Cards. And surprisingly enough Meilin wasn't hanging all over Li anymore. She had a new fiancée and just like Madison was eager enough to just get those two together. Of course, to no avail, it didn't work.

After a while of silence, Sakura snapped back to reality. She looked over to Li and decided to engage him in a question she was waiting all day to ask. "So, how was your date with uh…what's her name again?"

"You mean Umi?" Li asked, looking into her eyes. He didn't sound to enthusiastic about it.

"Yeah that's it," Sakura smiled and then nudged him with her elbow. "So, how was it? Any sparks fly?"

He crossed his arms and then rolled his eyes, "It was terrible, Sakura. You don't even know how bad it was. All she did was talk about herself and her stupid education. I couldn't get a word in edgewise. That was just during dinner." Li was getting angrier with every sentence that he said. "Then during the movie she tried to pretend she was scared and then tried to cuddle with me or something. She didn't let go of her death-grip until I convinced her that ghosts really don't exist."

"Did you say…ghosts?"

Li looked at Sakura and tried to take back what he said, "No! Not ghosts…um…vampires…yeah…real mean vampires…that was it!" He smiled to try to make her to feel better, but she was just looking down at the ground. "Sakura, I'm sorry,"he said, putting his left arm around her shoulders and pulling her closer. "I should have known better. Ever since I've known you, you've always been afraid of ghosts. I'm sorry."

"It's okay,"she said looking up. "Some things never change." She looked up at him and smiled and started to laugh which of course became contagious as the flu and he started to laugh too.

"Sakura, what I don't get,"he started, dragging his arm back to his side from her shoulder. "is that you used to throw yourself into dangerous situations capturing cards but you're afraid of a transparent floating object?"

"It's silly, I know…but we're all afraid of something. For me, it's those transparent floating objects."She laughed again but then became more serious at remembering Li's problem. "I'm sorry, Li. About your date."Sakura tried to offer a pat of sympathy to her best friend but…it didn't help. He looked away from her so that she couldn't see his bloodshot eyes. He hadn't been getting much sleep lately and when he did, it was only because she would talk to him until he fell asleep.

"But that's not even the worst part of it, Sakura! I tried to be a gentlemen and shake hands at her doorstep, but when I said that she wasn't my type is when she pulled me in for a kiss. That was completely awful. She was such a bad kisser. I'll never date her again." He made a face that suggested he was eating something sour and then sighed. Sakura could only smile. He had been opening up to her more and more all the time. When he never talked in the fourth grade, he was always talking now. Well at least to Sakura. He trusted her more than anyone.

"Well, I am sorry your date went the way it did. It's just too bad, Li."

He shoved his hands into his pocket and then looked at her with a questioning glance. "How so?"

"Well, I mean…you deserve someone really great,"Sakura explained, then paused to think of what to say next. "You've been dating girls at least once a week ever since you've gotten back from Hong Kong and not once has there been more than a second date…how come? No one was good enough?"

"Yeah, something like that." Li blushed as he thought about for the hundredth time what it would be like if he found someone good enough. Love, he figured, was right next to him and he couldn't do anything about it. He loved Sakura too much to break their bond of friendship. It meant more to him than anything. They had been spending practically everyday together. She told him about her girly problems like why she thought bras were stupid and he didn't even mind. Sakura would take him shopping and she'd try on clothes and he would comment, always telling her the truth. Of course she would listen to him gripe about his family and even would help him train more. Li even gave her lessons ever Saturday about sword handling.

They reached her house suddenly and Sakura grabbing his hand broke Li from his trance. He turned a little red and squeezed back. They would always do this. Hug and hold hands, and it just seemed natural but it was driving him crazy. His hormones were out of control and all he really wanted was to just confess his love to her and finally get the chance to kiss her. But that would never happen; he figured and then turned to her to say his farewell. "Well, goodbye," he said, giving her a quick hug and then walking away.

"Wait!" She yelled to him. He turned to see her tapping her foot and her hands on her hips. "Where are you going?" Sakura smiled suddenly.

"Um…I'm going home, Sakura."

"Aren't you going to come inside? I told you I had to show you something. Did you forget, Li?"She made a sad face at the thought of him forgetting.

How could he? All she could talk about all day was this dress that she had just bought. Li couldn't deny that he wanted to see how she looked in it. But he also couldn't deny her big brother.

"Of course I didn't forget, Sakura." He loved to say her name and now that they were closer, he said it every chance he got. "But um…I uh…have something to do at home…right…uh…"

"Don't worry, Li. Tori's gone. He left a few hours ago and won't be back until Saturday night."

He stepped forwards while he sighed with relief. "Thank God! I'm sorry I lied about having to do something at my house. But I couldn't stand another confrontation with your brother again." His mind flashed back to when he last saw Tori. Li was just walking Sakura home like he was doing now and was saying their goodbyes when a piece of jewelry accidentally slipped from her finger. He kneeled to pick it up and offer Sakura her ring back and that is when Tori decided to make his unscheduled appearance. Imagine this: Li on one knee with a ring in hand looking at Sakura. Anyone can understand why Tori would be a tad upset at this image.

"It's okay. I'm just happy you're still alive,"Sakura said smiling while she tried to open her door with the key, but it wasn't budging. "Why won't this door open?"

He ignored her question, "Tori is just way too overprotect…"

Suddenly the door flew open and Tori was standing in the frame of it. He had a suitcase in his hand that immediately was thrown to the ground when he saw… "The Gaki."

Li and Tori went into death-stare mode, neither flinching until Julian appeared behind a very angry Tori. "Now Tori…let them be."

"Oh, hey Julian!" Sakura cheerily said as she grabbed Li and snuck him inside while Julian took Tori's arm and led him to the car in the driveway.

"Hi, Sakura! Don't worry about your brother, we were just leaving!" Julian tried to make a mad dash to the car, dragging Tori before he could say anything-too late.

"We'll be back in a few days, Sakura and if I find out that he spent the night here like last time, then I swear to God that I won't be so merciful upon that Chinese Gaki!"

Julian shoved Tori in the driver's seat and then came back to retrieve the luggage that Tori had thrown down in his rage. "Sorry about Tori, he's just been a little stressed out."

"I wouldn't expect anything less." Sakura waved as Tori slowly drove out of the driveway, trying to look inside to what Li was doing. Sakura stuck her tongue out at her brother. "Bye, Tori! Have fun! Send dad my love!"

"Bye, monster,"Tori called as he slowly rolled past his house, still trying to peer into the windows to see what that Chinese brat was up to.

"I am not a monster!"Sakura yelled and then something popped into her mind. "Don't worry, Tori. I'll make sure to give Li a nice big kiss for you!" Sakura didn't even wait for his reaction as she slid into the house with a big smile on her face.

"See?" Li said, sitting on her couch. "That is exactly the reason why I didn't want to come inside. Your brother hates me, even more so after the night I spent here last year."

"He doesn't hate you, Li. Nothing happened last year! I was lonely and you were just trying to cheer me up." She remembered the night perfectly. Every detail still etched in her mind. She could still picture Li dressing up in drag to try to make her laugh. She even got to shave his legs. Then afterwards Li dressed Sakura in one of her father's suits and painted a mustache on her face. He did it all for her and neither of them could remember a time when they both laughed as much.

"So where's your dad this time?" Li asked, changing the subject. The less they conversed about Tori the better.

She took a seat across from him as she sadly explained. "He's on another dig in America. It's the fifth one this year and every time he gets farther and farther away. Tori and Julian are visiting him when Tori looks at some graduate colleges in America. He'll be coming home in a week but dad is staying until the end of July. I guess it's really important."

"Must be," Li agreed. He could see the sadness in Sakura's eyes. She really loved her dad a lot. "He hasn't been gone for this long since…"

"Four years ago. I remember staying with Madison. We had so much fun though so the time flew by and he was back before I knew it."

"Well it'll be the same. We're going to hang out all the time and I'll bring you on a road trip or something. We'll have lots of fun, don't worry."

"Thanks, Li. You always make me happy." They both blushed and then turned away from each other when they realized what they were doing. "I made some cake the other day!" Sakura said, changing the subject. "Would you…"

"CAKE?!"

Sakura was bombarded by the shouts of a little yellow Clow Guardian in front of her. "Oh, hi, Kero!"

"Don't you 'oh, hi, Kero' me!" He yelled at her through the tears welling up in his little eyes. "You made cake and didn't even tell me…and you offered it to HIM before…before your guardian beast!" The tears flowed freely now as Kero cried as loud as he could.

Sakura embraced her friend as she tried to figure out what could be bothering him so much that he would cry like this…Oh yeah… "Kero, you need to calm down. You know how emotional Final Fantasy VIII makes you."

Through his sobs he tried to spit out his true feelings, "Squall! You idiot! You love her! Just tell her you big moron!!"

Li didn't know what to make of this. He tried to look concerned on the outside but was laughing so hard on the inside. The great Keroberos is crying over a video game, he thought.

"Kero, it's okay…it's just a video game…" Wrong move. Referring to a video game as JUST a video game is the first dumb move when trying to console an obsessive RPG freak. 

Kero inched away as he explained, "No…it's so much more! I need to take a stroll outside. Some fresh air will clear my mind for the fourth disk." Kero left as Sakura slumped back into the couch again.

"So would you like some cake..?"

Kero flew back in to the kitchen and when he emerged, he did so holding the entire chocolate cake with vanilla frosting, then slipped out the window, laughing.

"Well, I would have offered you some cake but it seems to be all gone now," Sakura said sadly. It took her most of yesterday's afternoon to bake that cake perfectly. Now it would take most of one minute for Kero to consume it.

"S'okay. Seeing that stuffed animal cry over a video game was definitely better than cake." He started to laugh until he cried.

She smiled as well but dared not to laugh in case Kero was still in earshot. He would never forgive her then. "Yeah, I should never have bought him that game. Next week, which he claims to be his birthday, he demands a Playstation 2 or he says he'll disown me as my guardian. Oh, well."

"So Sakura, why don't you finally show me that dress you've been talking about all day," he looked at his watch. "I mean, it's already 7:30…"

"Oh no, Li! I lost track of time! I'm going to be late!" Sakura ran up the stairs and into the room, not even shutting the door behind her.

He followed, bewildered at what was going on. "What? What are you talking about," Li said, rounding the corner into her room to see Sakura's back towards him. Of course she only had on her underwear and the rest was bare to see. Li was frozen in place as he watched her slowly turn around, her long hair and hands covering her chest.

"LI!!!" She yelled as she quickly shut the door in his face with one hand while she covered herself with the other.

"Sorry! I'm so sorry, Sakura! I didn't see anything…really! I'm really really sorry!" He yelled to her through the door. His back was to the wall directly across from her room as he slumped down to sit on the floor.

"It's okay, Li. I believe you. Besides, you've seen me in my bathing suit before. It's kind of like the same thing," she tried to convince him, not wanting him to feel bad. Actually, she didn't even feel embarrassed anymore.

"Yeah, I guess," is what he said but he really was thinking, no, Sakura, it's not the same at all. He blushed as he thought about her long brown hair and her perfect body. He was older now and while her inner strength and her mind had captivated him when he was younger and it still did now, her body was now at it's fullest and he couldn't help but notice. Of course what she looked like didn't always matter, although it was nice to see a beautiful girl along with her wonderful personality. "So uh…what's so urgent? Got a hot date?" He was kidding around, but when he didn't hear a response right away, he got a little tense.

"Well, actually Li, I do."

"Not with that English guy again?" He groaned.

"Yes, and his name is Jason."

What is it with English transfer students? Li thought. "Hey, Sakura?"

"What, Li?" she said, zipping up her dress.

"I don't like that guy."

Sakura sighed as she sat on her bed to strap on her shoes. "And why is that? He's nice."

"No, he's not! He's always telling you what to do and how to act. You're fine the way you are!" He paused, and then remembered, "He's overprotective too."

"No, he's not!"

"You're right," Li agreed. "Tori's overprotective. Jason is a prick."

"No, Li! He is not a prick!" Li just rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, thinking: whatever. The door opened and as soon as he saw Sakura he stood up. She was dressed in a long, black Chinese styled dress with a slit up to her thigh. She looked very elegant and his chin dropped as he looked at her. "What? You don't like it?"

"No! No! I love it…you look beautiful, Sakura." She smiled at his response and hugged him for it. It made him happy to see her dressed in a Chinese dress, though. Something from his culture on her, it made his heart flutter and his stomach turned and a weird feeling consumed him completely. Eventually she released her grasp and made her way to the bathroom to do her hair. He followed her, trying to tell her. "Look, I really didn't want to say anything before but…you shouldn't go out with him."

Sakura just looked at him in the mirror as she styled her hair, "Li, it's okay. He's just bringing me out to dinner and then to Madame Butterfly. You know how much I love that opera, don't ruin it before it's even begun."

"I know how it's going to turn out already. He's going to make you pay for half of the dinner and…"

"And what's wrong with that?" She asked, turning to him.

"He asked you, he should pay."

"That doesn't mean he's not a nice guy!" She swept past him and went to her room to grab her purse and then to the living room.

Like the past events of that night, he was in pursuit the whole time. "Sakura, he flirts with other girls all the time. Even when you're around. You pretend not to notice but I know you do. Listen to your own advice, Sakura. You deserve someone better."

"Li, I know you're concerned about the way he acts but…he's different when we're alone."

I highly doubt that, Li thought. I don't like this guy whatsoever. Sakura's been with this guy for two weeks now and he's four years older than she is and he's in college. I know where this is heading for him. "Has he tried anything?"

"What?"

"Sakura, he's twenty-one years old, in college and I know what's running through his mind. I mean…look at you! You're absolutely gorgeous and…" He blushed, trying not to go where his heart was headed. "Has he forced himself on you in any way?" She just stared at him and when he didn't hear a response he crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. "Oh, c'mon Sakura. Don't be so naive."

"Li! Don't call me naive." Sakura yelled, outraged. "And no, he hasn't!"

"Good," he said in an angry tone. He didn't mean it to come out like that but he was worried and when he got like this he tended to not be so sympathetic.

"And if we did…have…well…ya know…then that would be just fine!"

Li smacked his hand on the table next to him, then instantly regretted what he just did when he saw the slight glimpse of fear on her face. He approached her, slowly, talking to her as softly as he could. "Sakura, what do you mean, it would be 'fine'? It's only been two weeks since you started seeing him. You don't even love him."

"I'm seventeen years old! I'm practically a woman and who can decide who she loves and what she does with it!"

"I'm just trying to look out for you. I wouldn't be saying any of this if I didn't care so much for you!"

"Well you don't have to protect me!" She paused as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "We're not kids anymore and running around capturing cards!" The tears ran down her cheeks like he never had seen them before. Sakura didn't even make a noise.

"Sakura, I…"

"I think you should go," she said averting her gaze from his eyes. "Jason will be here soon and I…I don't want you to be here when he comes."

He stood there, letting this sink in, the fact that she was throwing him out. Li approached her slowly and cleared away the hair blocking her forehead and kissed it gently saying, "You look great and uh…I'll call you tomorrow, okay?" Li didn't wait for an answer as he left her house.

As soon as she heard the door shut she started to release all the tears she had kept in. She was crying all the way to the bathroom upstairs as she looked in the mirror. No use, she thought. They're all red.

"Why am I still crying?" She asked herself. "Jason is a nice guy. But…maybe Li's right. I definitely don't love Jason. I don't even think I'm really attracted to him. The only reason I started dating him was because Li…because Li was thinking about asking Kaora for a third date," she thought about what that meant and as she realized it, she smiled. "I'll break it off tonight." She continued to smile happily as the doorbell rang.


	2. Austere Actions

Chapter Two-Austere Actions

Chapter Two-Austere Actions

Li was at his apartment. Lying on his bed, cursing himself aloud. "Stupid. I made her cry and now she's probably really mad at me. Shit…I'm so stupid." He slowly got up and undressed, preparing to take a nice warm shower.

About an hour later, after taking a nice long bath, he dressed in his boxers and a t-shirt, and then lied on his bed to watch some t.v. He grabbed his portable phone from the table and then put it on the pillow next to him in case she decided to call him.

Li took the remote in hand and flicked through the channels one by one, only to find reruns and subtitled American movies. "I hate subtitles,"he said, throwing the remote control aside and laying on his back, staring on the ceiling. "I just want morning to come so I can call her and apologize for being such a jerk." Li sighed and looked out the window, noticing the rain. He closed his eyes, basking in his anger and sadness, and then slowly opened them. "I just hope she's safe."

At the same time that Li was making his request, Sakura was in the car with Jason. They had just finished dinner and were on their way to the opera house. Sakura thought, I just hope this is over soon so I can break it off with him. She glanced over to him and then looked to the view outside. Tonight is a disaster, she thought. The only thing saving me from jumping out of this car right now is our orchestra seats to Madame Butterfly. That is it. 

"The dinner was great!" Jason said, with one hand on the steering wheel and the other on the back of Sakura's seat. "Thanks for paying again. I must have forgotten my money at home."

Sakura tried to be happy. "It's okay, I don't mind,"she lied. Upon looking out the window, she suddenly realized how hard it was raining. There was an awkward silence in the car so she decided to talk about a safe topic: weather. "Wow, it's really coming down."

"Yeah," the most commonly used response among guys when faced with the awkward silence. She waited for him to continue but when he didn't she just looked out the window some more to watch the rain rhythmically fall to the pavement.

This went on for another ten minutes until she found herself asleep, when she woke up they were already at the parking lot. She looked around her but noticed no other cars.

"Is something wrong?" she asked, fully awakening.

"No."

"Then uh…why are we just sitting in a parking lot?" She turned to confront him about the matter.

"Did I ever tell you how beautiful you look?"

"No, you didn't." She said smiling. Well, at least he's trying to be sweet…but he's not answering my question, she thought.

"Well, you are."

"Oh, well…thank you," she smiled again and then he leaned closer to her, holding her cheeks with his hands. She tried to enjoy the feeling of his lips on hers but she couldn't. Sakura only could think about her fight with Li.

After a moment, they parted. "Doesn't the show start in a few minutes?" She asked as she looked at the clock on the stereo.

"Probably," he said as he leaned in for another kiss.

She put her hands up in protest, "Aren't we going to be late?" She wouldn't have cared if Jason were someone she wanted to be with right now, but he wasn't and Madame Butterfly was waiting. There was someone else on her mind.

"Don't worry about it. I have everything under control," he said as he rushed to kiss her. Sakura just went along with it, even when he wrapped his arms tightly around her. But what she didn't stand for was when he reached to her back and started to unzip her dress.

"What are you doing?" she said pulling back. The anger was building up in her eyes.

"I really like you, Sakura. English girls aren't like this."

"Well I'm not like this either. It's not because I'm Japanese, it's because I'm not easy…I'm not comfortable with this Jason," she said pushing him away. "Bring me home…now."

"But…"

"Jason…just do it."

He reached to the keys in the ignition and she just slid over to the furthest part of her seat away from Jason, looking out the window. Li was right, she thought. I should have listened to him. I wish he were here to protect me…I lied to him. I always want him to…I'm not as strong as he thinks I am. Her eyes became watery pools as she came to a sad realization: I'm not as strong as I think I am.

"Sakura…this is your last chance."

She turned to look at Jason; his long black hair covered his eyes. "Jason, no. I'm not going through with this anymore…"

"No, you don't understand. I don't want to be your boyfriend anymore than you want to be my girlfriend."

"What?"Sakura blinked her eyes in disbelief. "Then, Jason…what is this whole date thing…"

He cut her off by sighing, "Look at these clothes,"he said, grabbing his shirt and holding it out in front of him. "Awful,"he said in disgust, releasing his shirt and smoothing back his hair. "This has been more difficult than I had originally planned. I mean, I haven't been with a girl in…"he counted on his hand as she didn't pay any attention to what he said next. "three hundred years…"

"Then what do you want?"Sakura said impatiently

"I want…the cards. Hand them over."

What?! Sakura thought. But how… "Look, Jason…I don't know what you're talking about. You're making no sense,"she said, trying to cover up her surprised look when he mentioned the cards. But Li was right. She was a horrible liar.

Jason reached under the seat and took out a really long knife and quickly put it to Sakura's neck. "I'm not going to put up with this bullshit any longer! Just give me the cards and you won't get a scar…to remember me by."

"Oh please, I would never want to remember you. Don't flatter yourself,"she was surprised by her own act of courage. Geez, that doesn't happen very often, she thought to herself. "Besides, I don't have them with me,"she lied. If I could only reach my key, she thought.

"Then where are they?!"

"I don't know."

"I'm losing my patience!"He yelled at her. "You know where they are! Don't make me use my magic…"

"I'm not scared of your magic!"

Jason grinned as he twisted the knife around near her throat. She could feel the edges of the blade scratching her skin. "But I do know what you're afraid of…ghosts." She shuddered at the thought. He noticed this and continued to press her. "Hmm…that's what I thought. So, ghosts, eh? I know a few ghosts that wouldn't mind coming here and…"

"I don't care! I'll never give you my cards! Never!" She screamed the last word at him with tears in her eyes.

At his home, Li stirred in his sleep then woke up suddenly. "What was that? Sakura?" He sat up in his bed and felt the sweat roll down his cheeks, or were they tears? "It's hot in here,"he stated as he threw off his shirt. 'Never!', he heard the words again and then shook his head. "Couldn't be,"Li said as he threw the blankets off his bed and fell back asleep.

"Fine!"Jason said, advancing towards her. "Then I'll take something from you that…you can never have back."

What is he talking about? Oh, no…please don't! Sakura pleaded in her own head. Who is he? And why does he want my cards?

Sakura was whipped out of her thoughts as the seat came down from under her and she fell on her back. Jason was suddenly on her, kissing her violently. He held her hands up over her head with one had while the other one unbuckled his pants and slid her dress up.

She couldn't talk but if she could she didn't know what to say. She just wished she was eleven again and that capturing Clow Cards was an every day occurrence and that…that Li always protected her.

Twenty minutes later, Sakura was in the parking lot, the rain was falling down on her. The dress she had been so happy to wear was ripped up to wear the slit had stopped and her shoes were gone. Jason had pulled out a knife and had cut her many times. She was lying on her back; the rain hit her bruised body like a thousand knives.

Trying to reach her purse, she rolled over some glass, which became embedded, into her side. Her tears were camouflaged against the rain hitting her face and she was so cold. The red blood was streaming down her legs as she reached into the purse to take out the key.She held it in her hands weakly; it had been years since she called upon her cards. "Key of the star, with powers…burning bright…reveal…the st-staff…and shine your light…"And mustering her last ounce of energy she yelled, "RELEASE!"

The key was transformed into her staff which she held to her chest, crying. Without even asking, the cards slid out of her bag and started to float around her. "Oh…my cards…I love you all…please help me…"

She looked at the gentle fly card and raised her staff as high as she could, "Fly card…release and dispel…" Sakura could feel the wings grow from her back and the fly wrapping them around her, holding her close. "Oh…fly…" She tried to use her magic to take off like a bird but she found she wasn't strong enough.

"Power card…release and…and dispel…" The power, instead of enveloping Sakura, came out in its visible form.

"Sakura! Sakura, the cards are all worried about you…are you alright?!" It asked, rushing to her side. The Power had tears in its little eyes. "We all love you too."

Sakura smiled at this and without hesitating she asked in a raspy voice, "Bring me to Li."

The Power backed up and closed its eyes, forcing Sakura to take in its energy. Sakura could feel the rain even more so as the Fly took her to the place she desired. The cards followed her overhead, trying to shield her from the rain. They knew Sakura didn't have the energy to call upon any more cards even if she could.

Li was trying to fall asleep on his bed, but he couldn't. Sakura, he thought. Please don't hate me…I need you. I would give anything for you to realize just how much I…I love you. A bright light from the window disturbed his thoughts. He turned to see The Glow floating by his window, pounding on the glass.

Without a thought, he ran downstairs and flung the door open. What he saw he couldn't even begin to comprehend. He saw The Light and The Fiery along with the rest of The Sakura Cards floating overhead.

"Please save her," The Light softly spoke as she opened her arms to reveal a black and red spot against her body. Li rushed to The Light and took Sakura in his arms, trying to hold back the tears."Take care of our mistress." And with that The Light and The Fiery went back into their card forms and with the rest of the cards went back into the book and floated to Li's room.

Li followed the book back to his room and laid Sakura out on his bed. She was cold and pale and he couldn't help noticing the blood covering her body. "Sakura…please wake up,"he called to her. Her eyes fluttered open and her face seemed to be caught between sorrow and nothingness. "Sakura, did Jason do this to you?"

She nodded her head slightly but did not utter a word from her lips. They were almost blue. Sakura tried to move but found she couldn't so she tried to speak. "C-c-col-cold…cold."

Li took a blanket and covered her quickly and then picked up the phone, "I'm calling a doctor. Please, stay awake, Sakura!" He dialed a number and waited for someone to pick up the phone as he planted a kiss on her forehead and then caressed her hair to comfort her as he spoke to the woman on the other end of the phone.

Two hours later, at 11:37 at night, the doctor exited Li's room and walked to the chair directly across from the door. Li stood up, "Is she okay?"

"In a matter of speaking, yes. I found no traces of any diseases, pregnancy, or infection…"

"What are you talking about?!"Li shouted in confusion. "Diseases, pregnancy? Sakura…was she..?"

"Raped?" The words stung Li's heart as she said the words. The Doctor paused before continuing. "Yes, she was." He couldn't think of his Sakura being…he couldn't even think the word, let alone say it. Li sat down in his chair and ran his fingers through his hair. The doctor continued on, "Her wounds are taken care of, but the bandages will have to be wrapped again tomorrow. And she has to take these pills,"Dr.Alita said, giving the bottle to Li, "three times a day for two weeks. Her fever has gone down and besides being shaken up and in some pain, she has a minor cold."

"I just can't believe that she was…I can't believe there are people horrible enough to do such a thing."

"Well, it's hard to believe, but it's becoming more common. Sakura is the second girl I've treated this week. When are boys going to realize no is no. No offense to you. You seem like a smart enough boy." She paused looking down and then back up. "Are you her boyfriend?"

"No, just a friend."

"Any family around I can contact?"

"No, her father and brother are in America and won't be back for another week."

"Mother?"

"She's…she's dead."

"Oh. Okay then. Take care of her until they return. If she needs to talk to a woman, here's my office number and home phone number," Dr.Alita handed Li a business card. "Don't take this the wrong way but, when she awakens, she might not want to talk to you. She might be a little scared. Although I talked to her and she seems pretty deadset on the fact that you're the nicest guy she's ever met,"Dr. Alita briefly smiled.

"When is she going to wake up?"

"Hard to tell. I gave her some pretty strong sedatives so she would sleep through most of the pain. I would have to guess tomorrow afternoon, maybe tomorrow night. Maybe even the next day after that."

"What can I do to help her? I don't want to scare her…I…I love her. I just don't know what to do…"

"It's okay. I get that question a lot…well first, talk to her in a soothing and gentle voice. And make sure that you don't push her to talk about it, she will when she's ready. But the most important thing is to make it seem that you have everything under control and that she can feel safe around you and trust your judgment. Can you do that?"

"Yes, of course."

"Good. Now be strong, and surprisingly she will be too,"the doctor smiled at Li before putting on her coat and grabbing her car keys. "I hope I've helped."

"Thank you for everything, Dr.Alita."

"It's really no problem. Be good to her, okay?"And with that said, the kind woman turned around and left just the way she came.

Li ran his fingers threw his hair once again, taking a deep breath. He had been keeping his hair a little longer since the fourth grade. Sakura had suggested it, saying the girls would go crazy. According to Madison, they did, but the only girl he cared about liking his hair was Sakura. She had always been the only person. Li took another deep breath before stepping forward.


	3. Soft Undertones

Chapter Two-Austere Actions

Chapter Three-Soft Undertones

He walked into his room and watched the sleeping Sakura. She was dressed in a pair of his sweatpants that were obviously too big for her and a t-shirt. Li walked to his closet and took out a sleeping bag and an extra pillow and laid it next to the bed. Before getting in it himself, he sat on the bed next to her, watching the rhythmatic flow of her breaths. "You're safe now, Sakura. Just…please don't hate me when you wake up…I can't bare the thought of you…hating me." He lied down next to her for a moment, embracing her warm body that had regained its color. His eyes wandered around her face, searching for a sign she would awaken and hug him, but there was none.

Li slowly leaned towards her and kissed her forehead, "I love you, Sakura. Maybe I can tell you when you wake up how much you mean to me…and maybe you'll love me in return." He smiled at the thought and then retreated to his sleeping bag on the floor to try to sleep.

A tear escaped his eyes as he thought about the pain she must have gone through. That will never happen to you again. I swear it, he thought as he shed a few more tears, falling asleep.

The next day, Li watched over Sakura. He didn't leave her side for more than fifteen minutes. It was four o'clock by the time he started to feel like she would never wake up. She had stirred a few times during the day and even called his name, but she never opened her eyes. Not even once.

He had tried calling Meilin and Kero all day but neither one answered the phone. By the time seven o'clock came around, Li had already watched two movies and read a short novel since the beginning of the day. He got up after playing with an old yo-yo he found in a drawer and picked up his sword. 

Three years ago, almost four since it was already the middle of July, on his fourteenth birthday, his mother had sent him a new, much longer sword. It still had the same design and virtually the same handle but of course it was much heavier so he had to practice everyday. Li had picked it up thirty minutes ago and was swinging it around with such grace that it even surprised himself but he found his mind wandered to the girl still sleeping.

He tried a difficult move but was thinking about Sakura and totally messed it up. Damnit! He thought in frustration, dropping the sword and sitting on his sleeping bag still on the floor. He propped his back against the bed and his knees were up to his face and his face was buried. Li felt the movement of something behind him and turned around to see Sakura watching him.

"Li?"  
"Sakura, you're finally awake,"he said as gently as he could, turning his body towards hers. "How are you feeling?"

She sat up and curled her knees towards her, remembering what had happened the previous night. Sakura could feel herself tremble as the tears flowed like a river down her cheek. "Oh, Li…I was so scared…I just wanted you to be there in your Chinese robes and your sword so you could protect me like when we were eleven. I wish I still was…LI!" she threw herself into his arms and cried as hard as her body would allow.

"Shhh…it's okay. I'm right here. It's alright now. And I know we're not capturing the cards anymore. Hell, I'm too tall for my robes now anyways." Sakura laughed a little as she continued to cry. "But…I'll always protect you. I can't help it. You're too much a part of my life now," He held her close as she cried her heart out. "We can talk about it later if you want."

After a few more sobs she tried to talk. "Okay."

"You don't have to right away…I want you to be comfortable, Sakura. We can do anything you want to do…I don't want you to…to hate me."

She pulled away looking into his eyes. "Li…I don't hate you."

"But…"

"No, Li…I could never hate you!" She threw herself into his arms again and he hugged her close. Knowing this made his heart relax and just take her in. He picked her up slowly and sat on the bed so that he could cover them both with the blankets. She still had that cold after all. "Li…you didn't do this to me…Jason did. He was right. He took away from me the one thing I'll never have back…I didn't want it to be with him…I don't love him…I never loved him…I just…" Her words were lost as she cried some more.

Li was crying too. Sakura felt it and cried even more and then released herself from him and looked into his eyes. "Please don't cry, Li."

"I can't help it," he took his hand and put it against her cheek. "This is killing me, Sakura. I hate seeing you like this…this wasn't supposed to happen. You should be happy." You were supposed to…with me…Li thought. Your first real kiss wasn't with me, I was gone and in Hong Kong…so I thought that your first time should be…with me. Our first time…together.

He pulled her close to him and just held her until she couldn't cry anymore. The tears subsided and Li just held her while she took deep breaths to regain herself. "Li?" she asked meekly. She sounded so small.

"Yes?"

"Can I take a shower?"

"Of course, Sakura." Li rested her on the bed and turned on the faucets and grabbed a bathrobe and some towels and laid them on the table next to the sink. He helped her out of the bed and brought her to the bathroom. "A shower will do you good."

"I suppose, but…it doesn't matter how many gallons of water and how many bars of soap wash over me, I'll still feel dirty." He reached out for her hand and squeezed it gently to try to comfort her.

She didn't even look at him as she released his hand and shut the door gently. Li turned to leave, but found that he didn't know what to do so instead he just walked over to his bed and lied down. Oh, Sakura, he thought. I never imagined I'd see you like this. Damn Jason. I'll kill him…I swear to God.

As Li was thinking, Sakura was sitting in the bath, looking at her bruised body. She felt so dirty, like a piece of trash. She grabbed a piece of soap and a scrub-brush, determined to be clean.

About thirty minutes later, she emerged, wearing the bathrobe. "Um, can I have something to sleep in?"

"Yeah, of course," Li went to his drawers and grabbed a pair of boxers and a t-shirt. He handed them to her and just stood there, but then realized that she probably wanted to get dressed so he turned around to give her some privacy. He refused to leave the room and never would have, even if she had dragged him out. Sakura unrobed and threw it to him, tossing it at his head. Li grabbed it and noticed a few blood stains on it, then turned around to see her standing there, with numerous red marks. "Sakura, what happened?"

"I just wanted to be clean." Li went to her and held her face in his hands.

"Sakura," he softly said as he led her to the bathroom and put lotion on the dry parts of her skin and put band-aids on a few scratches.

"I'm sorry, Li. I feel like I'm losing it."

"It's okay. You've been through a lot. I'll do anything to help you be okay again," he said as he finished putting the lotion on.

"Thank you, Li. If it wasn't for you, I…I…"

"Don't think about it," he said smiling. "You should rest."

"Yeah, okay,"Sakura said quietly, finally giving in to Li.

He picked her up and brought her to his bed, "I hope you don't mind if I sleep on the floor."

"No, not at all…I just…"

"What?" he asked, sitting beside her.

"I just…I want you to sleep on your bed."

"Sakura, you're sick…you're not sleeping on my floor…no way."

"Li, that's not what I meant…"

"Then…uh…you want me to sleep…here…next to…um…you? Uh, Sakura…" he turned about fifty shades of red as he realized how close he would have to be to her.

"Li, don't worry about it, you don't have to…I just…Madison always used to sleep next to me when I was scared about ghosts…and she's not here and…you're my best friend too…"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes…I trust you more than anyone…I don't care if you're a guy…Just please…I need someone to hold me."

He was a little nervous being so close to her and all but he took off his pants and socks anyways and slipped into bed along with Sakura. He tried to keep his distance because she didn't asked to be held yet so he didn't want to be offensive or anything. That's the last thing he wanted.

"If you need anything, Sakura. Wake me. You promise?"

"Yes," and with that word, silence spread throughout the room as if it was one of her cards. A few minutes later, she rolled over, only to look at his back as she spoke, "Li?"

"Yes?" he rolled onto his back and turned his head to look into her eyes. "What is it?"

"I want to talk about it now."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," she said. He moved in closer, holding her hands in one of his and stroking her hair with the other.

"Tell me everything, Sakura. I can help you take away your pain. Or…at least I'll try."

She smiled briefly, "Thank you, Li. You've always been so kind to me." Her smile turned to nothing as she started to open her mouth to talk, but nothing came out. She tried again but she couldn't say the words. He kissed her gently on her forehead and then the courage came. "Li…I was going to break it off with him…but then…then he tried something…he started to unzip my dress and….and…I told him to bring me home…he threatened me with a knife and told me to hand over the Sakura Cards…"

"He what? How did he know?"

"I don't know…I never told him…I never told anyone besides Madison…I think he was a magician or sorcerer or something….he said he had magic…" Li stroked her hair softly as he held her hands, caressing them with his fingers. "I told him I would never give him my cards…I love them…but he said that's what he wanted and if he couldn't have it…he'd take something else away from me…and then he…he…" She couldn't say it. He knew she couldn't and as she cried he slid over next to her, closing in on the space between them. Kissing her face and telling her encouraging words.

"We'll deal with this together…Sakura, you're my best friend. I'll always be here."

She paused for a moment and then added more to her story. "Jason also said…"Sakura stopped, remembering the horrifying moment in her mind.

"Yes?"Li asked, trying not to force her but he wanted to know anything else that bastard did to her.

When Sakura heard his soft voice, she smiled slightly then continued, "He knew about what I was afraid of most."

"You mean…ghosts, Sakura?"

"Mmmhmm,"she said in a stifled sob. She held it back as she talked. "He said that he knew of a few ghosts that wouldn't mind stopping by…but I told him I didn't care because I knew that if he found my cards that…I would lose them forever. And I knew that if he found my cards then he would find…you."

"Oh, Sakura…I'm so proud of you,"Li said, rocking her slowly. He whispered into her ear, "You were so brave."

After a moment she stopped crying and she looked up into his face. "What are you thinking about, Li?"

"How angry I am about what happened. But mostly how much I…I…I'm concerned for you." He couldn't say it, even though he wanted to. He just looked at her eyes, which were lighter than usual, because of the crying. They were now bluish-green, like the color of the ocean in tropical waters. "I just want you to be happy again."

"I will be…thanks to you. I feel much better now."

"Good," he said smiling and kissing her once more on her forehead. "Tomorrow's a new day. We'll face it together."

They held each other tightly as she realized what he had been saying to her the whole time. All of his comforting words and his touch…oh God…his touch was so soft and gentle. Sakura couldn't take it anymore. The words were eating at her, the reason that she wanted to end her fling with Jason. She smiled from ear-to-ear and then bit her bottom lip in excitement. "Li…you don't need to think about that."

"What are you talking about, Sakura?"

"You don't need to worry about me anymore."

"And why is that? What are you thinking?"

That was the question that she had been waiting for. Hugging him tighter she smiled. "Li, everything is okay now,"she softly said and then kissed him on the cheek very slowly before whispering in his ear, "Everything is okay now because…I love you."

His mouth dropped and his eyes widened slightly but then he relaxed and embraced her tighter as he felt the warmth from his heart spread throughout his body. "I love you too, Sakura." He took a few quick, deep breaths as he spoke, "I thought you would never know how I felt about you…I've loved you for so long…Oh, Sakura…I've finally found you…My love, Sakura."

"Oh, Li…I was a fool…I'm sorry about our fight before…because…you were right…you always were right. I'm sorry," she continued to cry as they both held each other.

"Sakura,"he softly said. She lifted her head from his shoulder. Li took his hand and held it to her face and in turn she leaned against it, smiling. He shook his head in disbelief, "I never knew I could feel like this…but…I love you, Sakura. I really love you…so much." His head descended and they both closed their eyes as his lips met hers. She was crying so much from happiness they had to separate shortly after.

"Li,"she softly spoke as she turned away from him so that her curves fit into his and he wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly and softly kissing her neck. They slept this way the entire night.


	4. Watchful Eyes

Chapter Two-Austere Actions

Chapter Four-Watchful Eyes

The next morning, he was the first to awaken. Li watched her until he decided to bring her into the new day by kissing her gently. She stirred as he spoke, "Good morning my love. Did you sleep well?" He said, taking the hair away from her face.

"Mmm-hmm,"she sweetly hummed as she yawned and pulled in closer to him.

"You're so cute when you're sleepy…I love you."

"I love you too…but I'm awake…see?"She opened her eyes and stared into his and kissed him once before settling back into his arms again, wanting to sleep more like this. A sleep without dreams predicting the future. A peaceful slumber.

They both were smiling…well, until they heard giggling from behind them. Sakura pulled away and Li turned his head.

"This is SO adorable!!"

"MEILIN!!!" Li yelled as he jumped out of bed. "What are YOU doing here?!"

"Well, I should be asking that to Sakura, now shouldn't I?" Li blushed as she continued. "I came to wake you up a half an hour ago for our jog but when I saw this I couldn't resist!" Meilin held up a video camera left to her by Madison in case of any romantic emergencies…this would definitely qualify as one…pretty much the most important one.

"You've been here the whole time?!" Li shouted, a little embarrassed. He didn't want Meilin to watch them while they were sleeping. It was just too creepy.

"Well, yeah! I'll have to rewind the tape so you can hear the cutest things you said to her while you were sleeping! Oh! And I even got the kiss and the 'I love yous'. Madison is going to be so thrilled!"

"You better get out of here before I smash that thing and kick your head in!" Li shouted as Meilin made a mad dash to quickly send the tape to Madison in Paris before Li could destroy it. I think I'll label it: A Confession Of Love by Meilin, she thought.

Li slammed the door shut as Sakura sat up in bed. He turned around to see her laughing. "What's so funny?" he asked in a serious yet joking tone. He put his hands on his hips in protest as he approached her in his bed. Now that was a thought, Li thought. Sakura sleeping in my bed. He smiled.

"Li…I can't help it! You're so cute when you're angry!"

"I am not!"He blushed even more, which made her laugh even harder as she fell onto the bed in a fit of hysterics.

"And now you're blushing!" She managed to spill out through the laughter.

"Well at least you're feeling better,"he groaned as he turned away from her and crossed his arms.

He felt her arms wrap around his stomach and her head was on his back. "The only reason I'm laughing or smiling…or even happy…is because of you, Li. You've healed me far beyond medicine ever could. Yesterday just feels like a bad dream and when I was lying in the rain…I felt horrible. I felt like everything was against me. But now…now I have you and I know I'll never be alone again."

"Well, that's something we have in common then," he said turning around to look into her eyes. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to take a shower." Li gave her one last kiss as he turned and took off his shirt. "I'll rewrap your bandages when I get out, okay?"

"Yeah, sure,"she smiled as he went into the bathroom. Sakura went back to bed because she was still tired from yesterday and dreamt happy dreams while her boyfriend took a shower.

When Li emerged, wrapped in a towel and scrubbing his hair dry with another towel, he was humming some love song. He stopped as he grabbed some clothes from his drawers and talked to his girlfriend. "Hey, Sakura, how about I go down and rent some movies to watch and then I'll make you breakfast in bed and the rest of the day can be spent just being with each other. Of course we'll have to talk to that stuffed animal at one point or another about Jason so…Sakura? Hey…Sakura?" He sat next to her on the bed, just realizing she was sleeping. "Too bad you're sleeping…all I have on is my towel…"he started in an inviting voice. "And I really wanted to kiss you."

Her eyes opened and she smiled, "Okay! I'm awake now!"

Li laughed and then leaned towards her, planting each one of his hands right next to her head, staring below into her eyes. "Oh, Sakura,"he said in a playful voice as he kissed her, pulling her up to meet his body with just one hand.

As the kiss deepened, she held him tighter, not wanting it to end. She was getting hungry though and she grabbed the pillow behind her and whacked him over the head with it.

"What was that for?"He asked smiling.

"You should go get dressed so you can do all those things you promised me while I was 'asleep'."

"Alright…I'll go get dressed and have Meilin head down to the video store for me while I make you breakfast. Then we'll have the whole afternoon of being with each other," he said kissing her. "Of course we'll have to get a hold of Kero."

"Do we have to?"She pleaded. "I don't want him to know about me getting…um…"

He put his arm around his girlfriend to comfort her, resting his chin on her head as she snuggled on his chest. "We can leave out that part, but we do have to tell him about Jason trying to take the cards and about him being a magician of some sort. Sakura," he said lifting her chin up. "He needs to know."

"Okay. But…promise me that you won't tell anyone about the other thing…not Meilin or Tori or my father…no one. It makes me feel worthless when I have to talk about it and I want to avoid that."

"Hey…Sakura you are far from worthless. You are at the other end of that spectrum. But, although it is against my better judgment…I won't tell anyone."

"Promise?"

He sealed it with a kiss. "I promise."

"Good…now…go get dressed."

"Yes, ma'am,"he said, mocking her in a gentle voice. He saluted her and then left to change in his bathroom and to talk to Meilin.

Sakura went through Li's drawers, trying to find something to wear, but couldn't find anything that would fit her besides pajamas or athletic clothes. The door opened and Meilin popped her head in.

"Hey, Sakura!" she said cheerily.

"Oh…hi, Meilin."

Meilin came inside and shut the door behind her. "Well, I'm off to the video store now…do you need anything?"

"Yeah…some girl clothes."

"Oh! Wait one second!" Meilin ran out the door and then a few minutes later ran back in. "I didn't know what to pick so I hope this is okay," she said handing the clothes to Sakura. "Just a tank top and a pair of shorts!"

Sakura gave Meilin a questioning look upon opening the folded clothes. "Aren't they a little…small?"

"Yeah, well I'm pretty sure Li won't mind at all!" Meilin said smiling. "Well, gotta go! See ya later!"

"Wait, Meilin!"

"Yeah?" Meilin entered the room again, smiling.

"Um…I thought you were going to send the video to Madison. I know she'd never forgive me if she didn't get to see it."

"Oh, she already saw it!"

"What? How?"

"The internet. She's already watched it about a dozen times, Sakura."

I figured as much, Sakura thought as Meilin ran down the stairs to the video store. That sounds exactly like Madison. Ah, I miss her; she continued to think about Madison as she changed into Meilin's clothes. Meilin hadn't grown too much since fourth grade. Well, not as much as Sakura had at least.

"This is a little too revealing…I might as well be wearing my bikini." Sakura checked herself out in the mirror, raising an eyebrow. Her white tank top was very low in the front; you almost could see her cleavage and her purple shorts were a little too short and just a little loose. Thank God that the shirt was stretchy and that the shorts were cotton and had an elastic band, Sakura thought.

While Sakura was turning and making weird facial expressions in the mirror, twisting around so that her long hair would be thrown about, Li came in using his back to hold the tray with two breakfasts on it. He placed it on a table, "Here is your breakfast my…liege…" He couldn't help but stare at Sakura, his mouth was partly opened and he grinned like a little schoolboy at her.

"Li, is it too revealing? I feel weird wearing this." He continued to grin but then was snapped back to reality by a… "LI!!"

"What? I mean…yeah it's small…but it's okay…I don't think any less of you, if that's what you mean."

"Really?"

"Of course not! I don't care if you're wearing this or baggy clothes…you make anything look great."

She stepped forward and hugged him tightly. "You're wonderful, Li!" she said as she kissed him and then jumped into his arms. He was a little surprised but smiled when she wrapped her legs around him to keep herself from falling.

"Thanks, Sakura…you're great too…I guess I took your advice after all and found someone better," they both smiled and kissed once more before she jumped down. He grabbed a table and placed it in front of his bed as she sat down on his mattress, waiting for him to serve her.

"Bon appetite! I hope you like it…it's been a while since I've made pancakes."

"I remember that my mom used to make these…you put blueberries in them! She used to do that too."He sat down next to her and started to cut them. He watched her eat the first bite and then she smiled. "These are delicious! A nice golden-brown. Just how I like them."

"Good,"he agreed as they both ate, talking in between bites.

"So why didn't you answer me in the fourth grade?" He suddenly asked. He had wanted to know for some time now and since they were together, he felt he could ask her anything.

"What do you mean?"She asked as he took away the plates and table and put them aside.

"Well…when I told you I loved you for the first time…you never answered me."

"Oh…that,"she waited to continue nervously as he sat down next to her. "Well, I was going to tell you how I felt but…I found out you were dating some girl back in Hong Kong…an old flame or something…so I decided to let it go."

"WHAT?! That's not true! Who told you that?"

"Hmmm,"she said, thinking back five years. "I think it was…"

"Meilin,"they both said in unison. Li was a little angrier when he said her name than when Sakura was.

"I should have known,"Li said, sitting back to where the pillows were. He dragged Sakura with him as he spoke. "So what happened after that?"

"Um," she started, getting situated in his arms. "Well, when I heard you were dating…I began to as well. Nothing great or anything. Losers mostly. I had not had one good boyfriend since well…you I guess."

"Really?"He asked, leaning closer.

"Really,"she whispered as they kissed. This lasted for a while until…

At that point, Meilin decided to walk in. "Hey you guys!" She said, whipping out the camera. Another cute-holding-each other-kissing-moment, she thought. Madison owes me big time. "Here's the video you wanted, Li!" she said happily, placing it on his t.v. and still recording the new couple's every move. "Do you guys have anything to say to the camera?" Li kissed Sakura once more before he got up and slowly moved towards the camera.

"Yeah, I do. Give it, Meilin."

"I can't do that…Madison would have a fit and this is too cute just to…Li…what are you doing? Get away from me!" Li was chasing around Meilin and finally stole the camera away from her, but not before she could take out the cartridge.

"I've had enough of this, Meilin! We're finally together and we can't be alone for more than an hour before you ruin the moment!"

"Li! You're overreacting! Give me the camera back!" Meilin begged as she tried to take back the camera.

"Meilin I love you like a sister but…"

"You do? Really?" he nodded. "Oh, give me back the camera! You have to say that again…Li loving moments are too rare to waste!"

"Meilin…like I said…I love you like a sister but…have you ever heard of sororicide?"

"Um…no…wait! Let me put it together! I'm taking a Latin class! Sororo- means sister and –cide means…oh…"she suddenly realized and nodded her head. "Right…I'll just be leaving now…have a good day!" she left suddenly, running outside.

"Anyways,"he turned to Sakura. "Where were we?" he said devilishly as he approached her with an evil grin on his face.

"Well, since Meilin brought the movie, why don't we watch it?"She said sweetly and now he couldn't resist. Stupid Meilin, he thought. Now I can't kiss her until the movie's over. I was really enjoying it too.

"Okay, Sakura. We'll watch the movie."

"Li."

"Yes?"

"I was just kidding,"she said as he turned to face her. "Get over here, you." He moved towards her and kissed her as soon as he reached the bed and then slowly lied down next to her. He stopped, suddenly realizing something.

"Hey, Sakura."

"Hmm?"

"I never did reapply your bandages."

"Really? I wonder why?"

Li demonstrated by kissing her. "That's why,"he said, getting up to retrieve more bandages.

"Oops. Sorry!"Sakura said, smiling innocently.

"Don't be sorry. I wasn't,"he sat next to her and started to unwrap a bandage on her leg. "Besides, we have five years of loving to make up for. Kissing is just part of it."

"Yeah, I know. Think of all the times I could have been with you when I was upset or when you were pissed at your mom or…"she noticed that Li had stopped paying any attention to what she was saying and was staring at her leg.

"Amazing."

"What is?"She asked.

"Your leg…it's completely healed…no scar or anything."

"Really?"She examined her leg as he unwrapped the other bandages and other wrappings. "Isn't that a little odd?"

"Yeah. I've never seen wounds heal this fast. Even with Wei's special mixtures. I don't know what caused this Sakura. But it looks like…you are a completely healthy girl,"he said smiling. "Sakura…are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, the wounds are fine now."

"No, that's not what I meant,"Li said while putting the wrappings in the trashcan and the extra ones on his desk. "Emotionally…how are you? I know last night was hard for you…and I just want to be a good boyfriend. I want to know if you're really okay. I care about you more than most people. More than all people."

"Li,"she started, kneeling behind him and wrapping her arms around his shoulders and chest. "I'm okay. Really. Yeah, I'm still a little scared and I will be for a while. But when I'm with you…it's different. I feel fine. More than that. I feel great. I've put it behind me now. Li…you are my future."

"And you're mine, Sakura." They hugged and kissed some more before they separated and he got up to put the movie in.

"What is it?"

"You'll see,"he said as he made a backrest with his pillows. He sat down and spread his legs so Sakura could sit in front of him. Wrapping his arms around her, they sat and watched the screen as the opening credits started.

"Oh, Li! Madame Butterfly!"

"I know you didn't get to see it last night…so…I got it for you."

"Thank you, Li. This means a lot to me."

"I know it does…that's why I did it."

For the next three hours they watched it. Li actually enjoyed the storyline, although tragic. She cried at the end and he held her and of course that was romantic as usual and they ended up kissing.

When they finished, she yawned. "I'm really tired for some reason."

"Well last night you found the energy to use at least four or five Sakura Cards so you should be drained of what energy you did have left."

"Yeah, you're right…do you mind if I…"

"No, of course not. Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere. I'll probably end up sleeping too."

"Okay,"Sakura said, laying into Li's arms, he pulled a blanket up over the both of them as he watched her close her eyes and then fall asleep. Soon later, he did as well, entwining his legs with hers.

About twenty minutes later, Meilin snuck into Li's room, found her camera, silently giggled and left just as soon as she had came. As she shut the door behind her, she ran to the living room downstairs to make a phone call.

"Hello? Madison? It's me…did you get the last video I sent you?…I know! It's so cute…So you think you could…Oh, really?! That's so cool!…Alright…yeah…hold on…" Meilin went into the kitchen to grab a piece of paper and a pencil. "Okay, what time again?…Okay…yup…sounds great!…well I have to go now if I'm going to make it on time…yeah…okay…bye." Meilin smiled evilly and hung up the phone and then dashed out of the house.


	5. On Cue

Chapter Two-Austere Actions

Chapter Five-On Cue

Li again, was the first one to wake up. What time is it? He thought. Li looked over to the clock behind Sakura. 4:40…it's been that long?! Jeez…better wake her up.

"Sakura…hey, love,"he whispered into her ear. He kissed her and as she awoke, she returned it full force. What a way to wake up, she thought.

"I love when you wake me up like that,"she said.

"Hmm…well I love doing it…and you. I definitely love you."

"And I love you, Li." They kissed again, this time Sakura rolled on top of him.

"This is better than t.v…."

Sakura and Li separated, realizing that neither one of them spoke and then both turned to see not one, but two sets of camcorders recording their actions.

"Meilin…"Li groaned.

"MADISON!"Sakura squealed as she ran to her best friend and hugged her.

"Sakura!" Li called after her. "You're on the wrong side!" He stared at their reunion for a moment then collapsed onto his bed. "That's it…I give up."

"Oh, Li,"Meilin chimed, sitting next to him. "Don't gripe."

"Okay I was wrong before,"he admitted. "We got, oh…"he looked at the clock. "Five hours alone without being tormented…but honestly Meilin…what is so interesting about watching us?"

"Well, look for yourself,"Meilin offered, rewinding the video so Li could watch. He did and when it was over he was blushing and smiling a lot.

"Yeah, she is captivating."

"It took seven years to finally get you two together and now…it's beautiful, Li. I promise that tomorrow morning you will not wake up to a camcorder."

"I better not, or I seriously…wait a minute…how did you get that back?"

"Oh? This?!" Meilin said, lifting it. "Um…gotta run!" She took off to the living room downstairs to escape Li's wrath.

Li turned to the two girls who were talking a mile a minute.

"How did you get here so fast?"

"The Concorde. It only took four and a half hours,"Madison explained. She looked over to Li and smiled. "Hello, Li. I see you've made some progress within the last twenty-four hours. A girlfriend who happens to be the love of your life. How lucky!"

"Hello, Madison." Li stood and walked behind the 'love of his life' as Madison had put it and wrapped his arms around her. "I guess we finally came to our senses."

"It's about time!"Madison said, all smiles. She turned to look into Sakura's eyes. "Meilin told me about Jason. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just got cut up, but the wounds have healed and…"

"So, is there going to be a big fight?"Madison said casually, like it was no big deal or anything.

"Um, probably…Jason's dangerous and he needs to be stopped before he hurts anyone else,"Li explained.

"Well, we have to talk to Kero first…"

"Nope, taken care of!"Madison said, interrupting again. "Kero will be here within the hour. He's been updated on the current situation as well, thanks to Meilin."

"Wow…um…thanks,"Sakura said. Her and Li exchanged looks of relief and confusion at the same time. Sakura then realized what Madison was getting at. "Madison, did you make…"

"Costumes?"Madison said.

"Yeah, did you…"

"Of course! And thank God I had my portable sewing machine with me or else this would have been a complete disaster!" Madison ran out of the room to retrieve them supposedly.

Li and Sakura turned to each other in their embrace.

"This is a little…"

"Strange?"Li finished.

"Yeah. But, it's like the old days Li. I'm glad we get to do this one more time. I know this may sound silly but…I miss capturing cards together. The last time I saw Yue was eight months ago. I used to see him every week."

"It's not silly, Sakura. I miss it too," he stood there, holding her and thinking of what was going on. "Sakura, this isn't weird. I think it only seems that way because we're not used to this anymore."

"Yeah, you're right, Li. But there is one thing I don't miss,"Sakura said, getting closer.

"Oh? And what's that?"

"The fact that I never could do this,"she said leaning in. Right as their lips were about to touch…

"Sakura! Hey, Sakura! Oh!…sorry…am I interrupting something?"Madison asked upon returning.

"Well as a matter of fact…"

"No! Of course not, Madison,"Sakura finished, elbowing Li in the ribs.

"Good!"Madison squealed with delight as she opened a black garment bag and lifted up not one, but two costumes.

"Aren't these the cutest?!"Sakura admired her work. Madison had only gotten better within the last few years.

Sakura's outfit was a dress, a tight, light pink top without any sleeves that hugged the curves of her upper body. The lower half was composed of dozens of strips of long red, pink, and white cloths hanging from the upper half.

Li's costume was a tight green t-shirt for the top that became long in the back for some sort of cloak type of deal. His pants were just a solid green, a little lighter than the top. 

"Very Medieval huh, Sakura?"Madison said, admiring her own work. "Not my best work but considering the time frame I had…pretty damn good, wouldn't you say?"

"Of course, Madison. They always were great,"Sakura smiled, trying to hold back tears of the memories. Changing the subject, "So, how was the flight Madison?"

"Horrible!"Madison said in disgust. "The only good part was the stupid pudding they served…"

"PUDDING?!"

"Stupid stuffed animal,"Li muttered as Kero came flying in.

"Shut up you Chinese gaki…I will have none of that spoken to the all powerful guardian beast of the seal!"

"Whatever, Kero…anyways, did you find anything about this Jason guy?"Li asked.

"Well,"Kero said, crossing his tiny arms. "His name is not Jason. It's Alexander Whitman and he's one of The Seven Rising."

"You mean there's more?!"Sakura shouted.

"Well there was, but they're all dead…except for Alexander…he's centuries old. He's very wise…well, most of the time."

"What do you mean?"Madison asked.

"Well you see, each one of The Seven Rising challenged Clow Reed way, way back. Alexander was in the middle, the fourth one to fight with Clow…but he chickened out."

"Why would he do that? And who are The Seven Rising?"Sakura asked.

"First of all, The Seven Rising is seven brothers born from an evil sorcerer and a good witch. They were all born with extreme magical powers but after the last brother, Alexander was born she died and they all converted to the evil ways of their father. Anyways, when Alexander's turn came to fight, all his previous brothers had fought and lost so he ran away. Abandoning his brothers who not only wanted to kill Clow Reed, but him now as well,"Kero explained. "So of course Clow beat them all and searched for Alexander to end the war but Alexander was no where to be found. It was like he had disappeared off of the earth."

"Why did The Seven Rising want to hurt Clow Reed? Wasn't he the most powerful magician?" Li asked.

"Yes he was…but the brothers not only wanted the title of being the best, but they wanted the cards as well. That's why Alexander is after Sakura. She is the new mistress after all. Alexander thinks that if he can get the cards and defeat Sakura, his brother's deaths will be avenged and will gain the trust back from his brothers in the netherworld."

"You mean…his dead brothers? G-g-ghosts?!"Sakura said, clutching onto Li. He held her back and softly kissed her on the forehead.

"What-what-WHAT?! What is this? Why is there kissing?!"Kero demanded.

"Kero…Li's sorta kinda…no, he IS my boyfriend now. We confessed our love to each other."

"Damnit, Sakura! Now you really owe me! I want that Playstation 2 or else Tori will 'accidentally' find out."

"Kero…"Madison started sweetly. "Sakura is really happy now…don't you want her to be happy? After all, she is your mistress and above all your friend. Right?"

"Of course she's my friend! I do love her…but if that idiot hurts her…"

"Kero,"Madison warned. "You know he wouldn't."

"Well, she owes me some pudding now…at the least,"Kero muttered. "Anyways, we have to track down Alexander and defeat him once and for all. If he gets the cards…there's no telling what will happen to this world."

"Again…explain yourself stuffed an….Keroberos,"Li asked, correcting himself. Better make nice to my girlfriend's guardian beast, Li thought.

"Well, anyone who regains the cards that is not appointed the new mistress or um…master I suppose…they will be released and you will go back to how it was before the cards came."

"Like the Final Judgment, Kero?" Sakura asked.

"Exactly like the Final Judgment. All the cards will be set free and you will be brought back to when you were in the fourth grade. That is why it is so important that you win. Sakura…you would lose everything. Madison would be just another face and Li…the only reason he came here was to capture the cards so…he might never come to Japan. And if he did, he might become the ruler of the cards instead of you. Anything is possible." Kero said, saddened. "Your past as you know it would be rewritten."

Sakura sat down on Li's bed, taking it all in. "Then I can't lose. There's no other option, I have to beat Alexander." Li sat down next to her and they hugged like there would be no tomorrow. Who knows, there might not be, Li thought. Well, at least the tomorrow that I expected…I don't want to wake up tomorrow and this to all change. Everything is going great in my life; I'm not going to let it change.

"I'll help you, Sakura…the best I can," Li whispered to her. "Come what may…we're doing this together." He smoothed the hair away from her face as they looked at each other.

I guess Madison was right, Kero thought. They belong together. And she's…she's happy with the Chinese…I mean….Li. She's happy with Li. I don't know how she's going to win but she has to. There is no other choice. But the thing is…Alexander has been roaming the planet for centuries now, fighting and getting stronger. What if he's too strong? Sakura's been out of practice for a while…what if she's not ready yet?

Meilin came running through the door just then, pointing out the window. "Look! Outside! Something strange is going on! I don't even know where to begin to describe it!" Madison ran up to the window first and took out her camcorder, watching in awe. Li and Sakura were right behind her, holding each other while Meilin just stood at the door. "What is it, Kero?"

"I don't…I don't know,"he said, flying up to the window.

"Some sort of storm, maybe,"Meilin suggested. She slowly approached the rest of the group, standing next to Sakura.

"No,"Madison said, shaking her head. "We never get storms like this. Never."

The five of them watched the black and gray clouds swirl together like an eye of a hurricane, only in slow motion. There was a hole in the middle that appeared to be blue, like the sun was fighting back to stay from being swallowed by the clouds. But it slowly disappeared, and the blackness ensued.

"It's Alexander,"Sakura said. She didn't know how she knew it…just did. "He's calling me. This is it. It all ends today." Although it didn't feel like it had begun, she knew that what Alexander wanted was something that no one should tolerate. He was an evil man that thought nothing of the wants of others. Men like that, shouldn't exist. People like that, should understand they're misdemeanors and become better human beings. Alexander did not fall in this category. He would never understand or admit any wrongdoings.

Madison stopped recording and turned around to look at Sakura who had her eyes closed. She couldn't help but walk over to her friend and kiss her on the cheek before she grabbed Meilin and Kero and left Li's room.

As the door shut softly, Sakura opened her eyes and turned to Li, "You think we can do this?"She asked, unsure of her own answer to the question. All Sakura knew, was that Li would say the right thing, he would never lie to her.

He looked into her emerald eyes, and then traced her facial features with his left hand. "Honestly…I don't know." Her eyes started to well up with tears as she thought of her future or past, whatever the outcome of the battle was. But before Sakura could shed a single tear, Li spoke, "But what I do know, Sakura…is that I love you. No matter what happens tonight, or tomorrow or hell…even what may happen if we go to yesterday, I will love you. All we can do is try our best. No one can ask any more from us. I won't ask any more from you."

She nodded her head and released him slowly from her grasp, "You're right, Li." Sakura gathered up her dress in her arms and walked towards the bathroom that was adjoining his room. When he heard the door click shut, Li undressed and put on his battle gear.

Well, at least Madison got the color right, Li thought. It was a little uncomfortable on his chest since it was so tight, but he ignored it and finished buckling his green boots and looked at himself in the mirror. Not bad, he thought. As he admired Madison's handiwork, he turned at the sound of the bathroom door opening.

"Oh, Sakura,"he said, approaching her. "You look beautiful." He noticed that she was wearing a pair of combat boots that were a dark crimson red that reached right below her knee.

She smiled at his comment and then turned around and lifted up her hair so that he could zip her up. He was stuck in a trance though, staring at her beautiful back. Li slowly reached his hands to her skin, caressing her back and her sides.

"Li…"she started, but as soon as he heard his name, he snapped back to reality and zipped her up.

"I'm sorry…I shouldn't have,"he apologized.

Sakura turned around, her long hair swirling towards her face. "No…I liked it." She approached him slowly, putting her hands on his chest, rubbing the length of his upper body. "You didn't have to stop, Li."

The truth was, he didn't want to. He wanted so much for her. He wanted her to forget the way that Alexander had touched her and then make her enjoy the way he wanted to. 

She stepped a little closer and wrapped her arms around him, lifted up his shirt and caressed his lower back. He watched her face intently, enjoying the moment completely. Her hands moved to the front of him, stroking the lower part of his abdomen. She could feel his hard stomach from the years of training.

Li brought his hands up to her shoulders and then slowly slid them down to her hips as he picked her up and hoisted her onto him. Sakura completed the action by wrapping her legs around him.

"Oh, Sakura,"he moaned as she kissed his neck and ears, then put her hands to his face and kissed his lips. Uncertain of where else to put his hands, Li placed them on her lower back and couldn't control himself as he slid them down to hold her better from underneath.

She smiled through the kisses as she tightened her hold on him so that they could feel each other's bodies as close as they possible could to each other. And as their kisses became more passionate, his body ached to do more but he knew this wasn't the right time and slowly made the kisses become less frequent until they stopped and looked at each other. "Sakura, this isn't the right time. We're both not ready for this." It was kind of lying, because he would have taken her right there and made her memories of Alexander become empty spots in her mind, but he didn't want to right now.

Sakura nodded her head as she gently kissed him one more time. "Yeah, I know,"she said. Did she sound disappointed? He thought to himself but shook them away. "Not now…don't get me wrong, I love you very much and…I know we've only been together for a day or so…but that's not true. It feels like we've been together ever since you moved back here from Hong Kong. But,"she said, her voice was very slow and soft. "We should be thinking of something else right now. We're not the only two people on the face of this planet, Li."

He smiled and kissed her before talking. "Now that's the girl I know and love. But you must know Sakura Avalon, you haven't seen the last of this,"he said playfully. "I want to show you a part of me that no one else has seen and no one else will. You already have my heart and my mind…but I will give you my body. One day, I will make sweet love to you, I swear it."

She grinned happily as she jumped down from him, "Oh, I don't doubt that, Li Showran. Don't think you can get rid of me that easily,"she smiled as they held hands for another moment, savoring the time they just had together. Her smile faded but she still kept that look of determination in her eyes as she let go of his hands and stepped away from him. Reaching into her dress, she held out the key. "Key of the Star, with powers burning bright, reveal the staff, and shine your light. Release!" A bright light overcame the room as the key transformed into her staff, the harnessing tool of her very own star.

Li grabbed his sword and strapped it on his back and then together they emerged from the room, making their way down to the living room where Kero was now Keroberos and oddly enough, Yue was there as well.

"Yue?!"Sakura yelled in happiness as she made her way towards him and leapt into his arms. "Oh, Yue! I've missed you!"

The guardian just stood there, holding her back. He had been treating her more like a sister than the mistress of the Sakura Cards as of late. He loved her very much and liked to show her how much she meant to him. Yue finally realized why Tori was always so protective of her.

"How did YOU get here so fast?" Li asked approaching him, a small smile on his face.

Yue released Sakura and crossed his arms, "I am the guardian of this young lady…nothing would stop me from coming to her aid." He moved towards the door with Sakura and Li in tow. "I could feel Alexander's presence through Sakura and I knew she was in danger."

"Well, now that we're all here, we need to leave," Keroberos walked over to Sakura who was now standing outside along with Yue and Li. "Come…it's time."

Sakura nodded as she took out a card and held it up in front of her, "Fly card! Release and dispel!" She pressed the tip of her staff against the card and started to hover as the wings sprouted from her back. Li couldn't help but make the analogy of her looking like an angel, well…minus the halo…and adding a pair of red combat boots to the mix.

Glancing over to Yue, he shook his head in protest, "THEY shouldn't be coming," he declared, motioning to Meilin and Madison. Sakura thought about whether Yue was right, but then smiled when she knew the answer.

"No, Yue. They have been here since the beginning, and that's the way it will continue…or end."He didn't say anything at his mistress's statement, just looked away to where the moon should be, but it wasn't. The clouds were covering it.

Keroberos knelt down and Sakura motioned to Madison and Meilin to get on. As soon as they did, she looked over to Li. "Your turn,"she said as she pulled out The Windy, a gentle card that would carry him.

"No,"he said, putting his hand up in protest. "Save your energy, Sakura. I don't need your help…well, as of yet." He took out something that she knew all too well. "Element! Wind!" Green streams of wind enveloped him and he started to float a few feet off of the ground.

She smiled, of course he can take care of himself, she thought. I need to save my energy and not to worry about him. He is a young man now. The words echoed in her mind as her wings lifted so they were outstretched far over her head, "Let's go!" she yelled confidently as her wings lowered to the ground and she jumped off, flying towards the sky. Li followed directly next to her with Keroberos and Yue directly behind.

He had noticed the transition that was all too familiar. Sakura was the girl he fell in love with but The Mistress of the Sakura Cards was someone he respected a great deal. She was powerful and had a strength of the heart beyond her years that he knew would only continue to grow. Sakura transformed from an average girl to this form of energy and above all, she was inspired and moved by the people she loved.


	6. End Of Dreams

Chapter Two-Austere Actions

Chapter Six-End Of Dreams

The group of people and guardians alike, led by the mistress and friend they loved so much, reached the middle of the commotion. In mid-air she stopped and looked down at the buildings below, searching for a sign of Alexander. He wasn't there.

"So where is this jerk?!"Meilin asked through the loudness of the storm raging ahead.

Li turned in his green wrap of wind, surveying the area. "I don't think he's here. Maybe he backed out."

"No,"Sakura said sternly. "He's here, we're just looking in the wrong place." She tilted her head to look at the spiral, swirling above. "Above us, not below." As she took off for the clouds, with Li directly behind her, Keroberos turned to Yue.

"She's very strong, Keroberos,"Yue commented as they took off in pursuit.

"Yes, she is. As she becomes a woman, her powers will only continue to grow and one day she may even surpass the abilities of Clow Reed." He stared at his mistress and than glanced over to Yue at his side. "They both share the same smile."Yue slightly smiled, realizing Keroberos was right, and as they followed her into the clouds above, Yue just hoped she was strong enough.

Sakura broke the surface of the clouds and hovered for a moment, taking in her surroundings. It was as if he had read her mind. She was floating over a beach, where the earth met the sea, the sky was clear overhead and there was the night sky on one side and the day sky in the other. There were candles and torches everywhere to light the darker side, the sun was in the distance and it's light barely reached her. Sakura had seen this before. "My dream, he's…he's seen my dreams."

She delicately landed on the ground, her wings sheltering her from evil. Li came through the clouds and went to her first, landing next to her and pried her wings open as the green swirls faded from him. He held her for a moment, "Are you okay, Sakura?"

"Alexander…he's seen my dreams. He knows everything, Li. I don't think we can win,"she sadly stated as her wings enveloped them both in a barrier from the rest of the world.

"No, Sakura. We have to win. I know you can do it. I have faith in you. Find the strength, my love." She looked up at him and acknowledged that he was right and opened her wings and released him. She tried to smile but couldn't as she called The Fly back to its card form.

Keroberos along with Meilin and Madison, came through the clouds, next to Yue. As soon as they landed, Sakura turned to the two girls getting off of Keroberos. "Meilin, Madison…I want you to be careful. Go behind those rocks and don't come out of there, okay?"

"But, Sakura if you need our help I'm not going to hold back do you…"

"Of course we'll stay there, Sakura. Come on, Meilin,"Madison said, tugging at Meilin's shirt and leading her to where The Mistress suggested they go.

As soon as they were out of sight, Sakura stepped forward, waiting for the appearance of Alexander. She turned around to face them all, ready to ask Li if he sensed anything but hands wrapped around her stomach from behind and cold lips kissed her cheek. "Alexander…"she softly said.

"Don't touch her,"Li said, stepping forward and grabbing her from Alexander's grasp. He unsheathed his sword with his left hand and held the hand of the one he loved in his other.

"My aren't we a little…testy,"he said in disgust, searching for the words. He floated away from them and put his hands together like he was going to pray, then separated them slowly while a long deep blue staff materialized and he grabbed it. "Now, what brings you to my world?"

"This isn't yours, Alexander. You stole my dreams,"Sakura said, stepping forward and releasing her grip on Li's hand.

"Well, it wouldn't be the first time I stole something from you." Kero and Yue looked at each other in confusion and Li growled under his breath. "Oops! Must have slipped…but…you didn't tell your guardians? I didn't think you were the type of girl that would hide things from the ones you love."

Sakura stepped forward some more and held her staff with both of her hands. "Alexander, you can't have my cards. I'll never let you have them."

The sorcerer touched the end of his long staff and pulled out a piece of paper then it floated to Sakura. "A contract. If you sign it then the cards will belong to me and by contract…I will not hurt your friends."

Sakura touched the paper and then cast it aside. "No, Alexander. There will be no contract. I will not sign my life away and the world's,"she said with anger as the piece of paper disintegrated.

"Then I challenge you to a fight, Sakura. Do you accept?"

"Yes,"Sakura said holding her wand in one hand. "I accept."

"Then let the games begin,"Alexander said as he started to glow a dark blue color and floated a few feet off of the ground.

Sakura thought about which card to use first, but her thoughts were cut short when Alexander lifted his staff and hurled a shot of lightning to her. Without even thinking, Sakura grabbed The Jump card and called upon its aid quickly so she could dodge it. When she landed it was her turn to fight back. If he used lightning, then maybe I can use thunder to weaken him, she thought.

"Thunder card! Release and dispel! Thunder!"She yelled, hitting the point of her staff to the card. The Thunder did not do any damage, as Alexander dodged the attack and returned to its form. She glanced over to Li and they both nodded their heads in unison. They each yelled their own spells. "Thunder!" "Lightning!" Both of the cards attacked and did minimal damage but Alexander was still standing strong.

"That was cheap!"Alexander called to her. "You can't use your friends to help you."

"And why not?"Li asked, holding up his sword in protest. "She was helpless when you hurt her before, she deserves to have some help."

"This is a fight between Sakura and myself. She can't have help from the likes of you. It just wouldn't be fair." Li growled and was about to make an attack, but Sakura held her hand up.

"No, Li. He's right. I have to do this on my own."

"But Sakura…"

"Li…no. Not today." Li backed down and sheathed his sword and then took his place next to Keroberos. "There, Alexander. None of my friends will help. I give you my word."

Alexander smiled at her response. "Good. And just for good measure…" He lifted his long staff and Madison and Meilin lifted from their hiding place along with Kero, Yue and Li. They all hovered together and stayed there, unable to move.

"Hey! I gave you my word, Alexander! Now let them go!"

"You're my enemy, I don't trust your word." Sakura growled at him as she put her staff up, ready to call upon her next card. "Well, I guess that upset you. You really care for these people don't you?"She didn't respond, just stared at him. "Well, if you're not going to be civilized about this then that's very rude, I asked you a question my dear girl."

"Shut up, Alexander! I don't have to answer anything. You wanted a fight, well you got it!" She grabbed a card from behind her and The Clow…no The Sakura seal appeared from below her as the anger built up inside of her. "Fiery Card! Release and dispel! Fiery!" Sakura yelled, striking the card with her staff.

He dodged and then counter-attacked each time she summoned an elemental card. Each time he attacked, she barely missed and was hurt each time. She was getting weaker and she knew that her judgments had to be better in the future. It wasn't going to be long until she ran out of energy. The elemental cards had already wasted a lot out of her.

"Sakura!"Keroberos yelled. She didn't look at him as she summoned The Jump to dodge Alexander's attacks.

"You can't run away forever,"Alexander said in annoyance.

"Sakura,"Keroberos continued. "The element cards aren't working, they're only providing minimal damage. You have to change your strategy!"

"Shut your mouth, Keroberos,"Alexander said even more annoyed than when he last spoke to Sakura. "I could have told her that,"he sighed and then added. "Some guardian beast of the seal."

Sakura stopped jumping and summoned the card back as she took out two more in her hand. The seal appeared below her as she threw the cards in front of her. "Fight Card! Power card! Aid me in defeating Alexander! Release and dispel!" Sakura hit the cards as the energy surrounded her and created a red light and then a blue one. She opened her eyes and ran towards Alexander, using her new-founded martial arts skills and strength to try to hit him.

"Now, who's running?!" She called to him as she went to kick him, but he dodged carefully as she fell to the ground.

"Mmhmm,"he laughed. "Silly little girl. You'll get no where like that." 

Feeling even more anger and power building up inside her, she put her hands in back of her and used her weight to flip up and then ran at him as fast as The Fight Card would allow her to. Alexander was a little surprised and tried to dodge her attack but was finally punched in the side and then kicked in the back, which sent him flying until he hit a tree, thanks to The Power Card.

"That was good, Sakura,"he said, slowly standing up. "I underestimated your strength. I will not make that mistake again."Sakura could feel the air change around her and summoned back the two cards she had just used and called upon The Fly card, preparing to fly if need be. "Choose wisely, Card Mistress. I only get hit once."

He closed his palm and bent his head as she started to hover and fly towards the sky. A few moments later, he opened his palm and she could see and almost feel the energy build strength and power as he slowly lifted his head up to look her into the eyes. "Say hi to your mommy for me,"he calmly said as he released the energy into thousands of spikes.

Sakura did a barrel roll to the earth, using her wings as a shield to protect her from the pain, but it didn't work. A shield, she thought. Sakura tried to grab The Shield Card but it was too late and she was plummeting towards the ground, her wings disappeared as her power had run out from protecting herself.

She was lying on the ground as her friends called to her. Alexander walked up to her and stepped on her left hand, she yelled in pain as she hit his leg with her staff. Meilin yelled in glory as Alexander winced in pain. "You're friends…are getting very annoying. It's getting hard to put up with this much longer." He grabbed his staff and pointed it towards her friends but Sakura hit him in the shin and he fell over, holding his leg. "Damn…it!"

"I told you to keep my friends out of it, Alexander!" She grabbed another card and flung it in front of her. "Shield Card! Protect my friends from Alexander! Release and Dispel!" The card released its energy and protected all her friends, lowering them to the ground. Li ran up to the edge and shouted to her. "Sakura! Take this down! Use it on yourself!"

She shook her head as she watched Alexander get up, "No, Li! I can't!" Sakura took out the Jump Card and summoned it one more time but in the middle of calling her card, Alexander grabbed her ankle before she could jump off and then grabbed her throat.

"You…are a thorn in my side. I don't know what I was thinking when I healed those wounds."

"Alexander…you healed my wounds? Why would you do that?"

He shook his head, "I don't know. For some reason it was a good idea at the time. I didn't want to feel like this was an unfair fight after all. It would be too easy to beat you while you were injured. Especially since I gave them to you when you were unaided by your cards." He shrugged. "But that all changes now,"he said, releasing her. But instead of falling, she flew out towards the sea and hovered while he talked to her.

"Sakura, you lasted for a while, I am to say the least, surprised. But then again, I'm not. I admire your courage…and that is why my brothers were weak. More so than you even. They relied on brute strength to win their fights and that is the reason that they lost to Clow Reed. They didn't have the heart,"he smiled to Sakura. "But you do. Unfortunately, that all ends now."

Sakura wanted to plead for her life so she could stop him from hurting her friends but that idea stopped. She only wanted to know one thing before she died. "Alexander, what do you have? You have not the physical strength of your brothers and you definitely do not have the heart. What drives you?"

He thought about whether he should answer her or not. He looked into her eyes and saw a calmness that he could only describe as acceptance. "What drives me?" Alexander paused, smiling. "What drives me is the power of the world. The winds, the earth, beckon to me. The volcanoes bow to me and the water of the oceans would stand still for me. That is my power,"he explained as he raised his hand and with it came four columns of water surrounded Sakura and started to spin faster and faster. "Oh, Sakura. You remind me of your mother, Nade-,"

"Don't say my mother's name!"Sakura yelled as the four columns became a ball and surrounded her with water. As the final air was breathed in, the ball submerged itself into the ocean and plummeted to the depths.

Her friends stood, shocked. They couldn't grasp what was happening but Li couldn't just stand there and watch her. The shield faded away, but another one replaced it, indicating the inevitable.

"She'll drown if this continues if she hasn't already! We have to do something!" Li said, pounding at the barrier. He tried summoning his magic but nothing worked. Yue and Keroberos tried as well and Meilin tried punching and kicking the barrier. Madison dropped her camera in the sand and tried to dig her way out, if it was possible.

After most of their energy was gone a few minutes later, Li was the last one standing; still summoning what little magic power he had left. Keroberos was trying to stand, but collapsed out of exhaustion. "There is nothing to do, Li. We are…helpless,"he admitted defeat as he bowed his head.

Li continued to pound the glass with his fists long after his magic power was gone. Meilin joined him as Madison continued to cry in Yue's arms. "Well, we can't just let her die you stupid stuffed animal! You're her guardian, damnit! Start acting like one and do something!"

"Sakura! SAKURA!" Li yelled as he continued to punch the barrier until his hands couldn't do anymore and he slumped down unto the sand. "Sakura…my Sakura…no…"Meilin hugged him tight. She hated to see her cousin unhappy. "I just told her I loved her…this can't be."

Alexander walked closer to the barrier and knocked on it playfully, "Oh, but it is. This is not a dream but very much a reality." He turned away from Li and walked over to the ocean, raising his hands, summoning the cards. As they rose from the water he exclaimed joyfully, "The cards have chosen a new master!"

Madison ran away from Yue's hold and ran to Meilin and Li, "That can't be, Alexander! The cards love her!"

Alexander sharply turned to her as he yelled, "They will learn to love another! Don't you understand?! Sakura is dead! That is why the cards are coming to me."


	7. The Finale

Chapter Two-Austere Actions

Chapter Seven- The Finale

"She's not dead!"Li yelled in disbelief.

Alexander fully turned his body to them as he confidently stated, "Don't you think that if she were still alive that the cards wouldn't be at my side instead of hers?" And as Alexander predicted, the cards began to float towards him involuntarily, as inside they were shouting to one of the two masters that they ever loved. Sakura.

"You…you…you monster!"Meilin yelled. Her fists were tight and the tears were streaming down her face as she pounded on the barrier until she broke down and Li had to hold her.

"Shut your mouth!"Alexander commanded and then smiled. "Or else…I'll have MY new cards silence you." He turned back to the ocean as he raised his hands as if to welcome them. "Come, my cards. Come to me." The cards obeyed, even though they were all screaming to Sakura to wake up and to call them back by name, but nothing came from the ocean. "It's alright,"Alexander chimed. "I'm your new master now. Oh, I have such plans for all of you."

The cards started to surround Alexander, but they didn't glow as they had done to Sakura when she was hurt. They weren't singing happily, but crying. Alexander smiled and looked at them, admiring them all. He grabbed some cards, one by one. The elements. "Ah, Windy…Earthy…Watery…Fi…where's The Fiery?" Alexander looked around, at each card but could not find it. His attention was drawn to the ocean in front of him.

"Look,"Keroberos said, standing up. Yue smiled slightly in awe as he watched the Fiery summon itself and then plummet into the water, the one thing that would douse its power. Meilin, Madison and Li stood up and watched as The Fiery emerged and went back to it's card form and joined the other elements in a group of their own as all the cards watched the display before them.

The water started to bubble from where Sakura had disappeared over five minutes ago. There was a blast of water and the same ball that had kept Sakura prisoner rose from the depths and broke the surface. It stayed that way for a few seconds until the water dispersed from the ball and Sakura was floating above the water, not even dripping wet.

"Sakura!"Madison yelled as she jumped up and down and then picked up her camcorder. It was too perfect to not put on camera. Meilin jumped into her cousin's arms as Yue and Keroberos stood by each other. The guardians looked at each other as Yue smiled and crossed his arms. "Clow Reed would be proud,"Keroberos stated.

"No,"Yue corrected him. "Clow would be jealous. Sakura has surpassed him." The guardians both smiled as they watched Sakura. "And yes, Keroberos, he would be proud as well."

Sakura started to glow a bright white color as the cards flew to her and created a circle at her feet. She held out the staff, and it floated away from her and dissolved into pink little sparks of energy and then surrounded her, merging with her body.

"Her staff…"Meilin started but she didn't know how to finish the sentence, she just continued to look on in awe.

Yue spoke to answer all their questions. "Sakura has become strong enough to not use her staff. She doesn't need it to harness her energy anymore." The whole group smiled at the sight, but Alexander on the other hand…was not happy.

"She's alive,"he said in a disappointing voice. "Oh, goody,"he muttered sarcastically.

Without even summoning it, a card floated to her and she gently touched it with one of her fingers. They both glowed in response as wings grew from her back. But instead of small, pinkish, undefined wings, she had long, white feathers everywhere that had actually grown from her bones.

Sakura finally opened her eyes, she was happy as she spoke to her cards, "My cards,"she softly spoke. "I love you all. Thank you. I owe you my life, fiery. But I'll need your assistance one more time." Her gaze turned onto Alexander, this time with anger. "You tried to kill Clow Reed and then you went against what you believed in to save your own life. You hurt me, my friends and tried to take my cards away from me. I won't let you destroy the things I love. I won't!" The light around her brightened with her anger.

"C'mon, Sakura,"Alexander said in a voice as if he was trying to reason with her. "You make it sound all so horrible."

"I'll give you one last chance, Alexander. You can leave unharmed, without your powers and you'll live. If you refuse, I can't guarantee your safety."

Alexander smiled as he uncrossed his arms and held out his staff. "Never. I don't regret anything. And you…you Sakura,"he said licking his lips. "You…were so nice."

Sakura grabbed four of her cards and floated further above the water. She held them out in front of her and then tossed them in the air. "Watery, Earthy, Windy and Fiery!" The cards floated out of their rectangular forms and stood two on one side, two on the other, in their visible forms. They held the same look of rage that Sakura did. "Alexander I lost before. I won't be so forgiving this time."

Alexander backed far up to the shore and held out his staff as wings sprouted from his back as well, but with black feathers. He glowed with blue energy and had the look of The Devil in his eyes as his staff transformed into a long sword with a blue handle and a sapphire in the middle.

Sakura reached down and grabbed one more card and touched it ever so lightly as a sword with a white handle and green vines encircled her arm with the sword in her hand. Green…green like Li, she thought. She smiled as she spread her arms wide, her wings reciprocating her movement. "You said that the elements bowed to you, that was your power. I will use it against you, Alexander."

"That's impossible, Sakura. You have lost. Quit before you die again and your friends die as well," he raised his sword to point it at her.

"No, Alexander. You are wrong,"she smiled. "I won't let you hurt anyone again. I gave you your chance, but now…it all ends now, Alexander." Sakura raised her sword to him as she called upon her elements. "The Elements! From my star burning bright, surround me with your guiding light; I transformed you with my star, now come to my aid from afar! Release!" She commanded as the four elemental figures beside her joined her by her side and joined her spirit and she glowed even brighter.

Simultaneously, without even one inch of a question, both of the fighters took off towards each other, swords drawn, and ready to fight until the death of one or both of them. And they clashed where the water met the earth and lightning surrounded them, each not holding back. At a standstill with their swords, their magic erupted like it had never before. As the minutes past, neither one was going to give up, until the darkness of Alexander's aura surrounded the bright white light and all went dark.

"Sakura,"Meilin cried. "No…"

Alexander was in the middle of the blackness, laughing. "I told you, Sakura. It is impossible. You have failed,"but as Alexander said these words, the light emerged from within him. He looked down at it, trying to scratch it away, but it exploded and the light shone everywhere, to the point where the onlookers had to shield themselves from the bright light. 

As the light died down and the sun rose from the sea, Sakura's friends unshielded their eyes and looked to the shore. Next to the lapping waves, they could see The Card Mistress, standing with her sword in one hand, her wings directly behind her, folded down. Her eyes were focused on the object next to her feet, Alexander's sword. She smiled at it first, then said something inaudible to her friends and smashed the orb, turning the sword to dust. Again she smiled and looked over to her friends then flew towards them, as fast as she could.

Li stepped forward away from everybody else and opened his arms wide; she flew into them and because of the impact they both fell down. "Li!" she exclaimed, holding on to him tight, the tears flowing down her cheeks and onto the sand as her wings disappeared.

"Sakura,"he softly said, holding her tightly, not ever wanting to let him go. "Don't scare me like that again, okay?"

She kissed him softly on the lips and then put her forehead against his, "I promise."

Madison and Meilin were holding onto each other crying, watching the scene unfold in front of them. Their sobs were finally stopping but started up again wildly as they kissed some more and uttered words of love. Keroberos picked up Meilin by her shirt with his mouth like he would his own cub, and flew down towards the earth, through the clouds.

"It's so beautiful,"Madison said to no one in particularly. "Like out of a fairy tale."

Yue approached her from behind and said quietly. "No, not like a fairy tale at all. Fairy tales are what dreams are made of. This is very real." Madison nodded in agreement; thankful she got that quote on the tape. She could only think about showing this to Li and Sakura someday. Yue smiled and his cheeks almost seemed to be tinted a slight shade of red as he picked Madison up and flew after the other guardian.

The two lovers hugged for quite some time until Sakura pulled her head away from his neck that she was laying her head on and looked around to see her friends. "Li?"

He sat up too, "What is it, Sakura?" He looked around him, also noticing that no one was there. He sighed with relief.

"We're all alone,"she got up and started to walk towards the exit. "I wanted to…"she trailed off as soon as she felt a hand grab her wrist. She turned and saw Li smiling at her.

"The sun is rising. Why don't we watch it?" Sakura smiled as she approached Li and he embraced her with his strong arms, now relaxed. And together, in her dreamscape, they watched the sun rise completely before they separated.

They walked towards the opening in the sky that would lead them down to the earth below, to his house. Li looked into the hole and noticed the darkness. "Hmm, I guess its still nighttime there. Wonder why the sun rose here?"

She smiled, knowing the answer. "Because in my dreams, the sun is always out." Li smiled too, but only because it was a little corny, which it was. Sakura laughed because she was thinking the same thing and Li joined her. "It's actually 12:30 in the morning in Reedington, Li."

"Okay,"he said, disregarding the information she had just given him. "Let's go home,"he said, reaching his fingertips to her hand. She grasped it firmly and then pulled him into a hug.

She whispered, "Happy Birthday, Li." She smiled and closed her eyes, chanting a spell as the wings grew from his back shading them from the bright sun. "I didn't get you a birthday present so…and I know you always told me that you wish that you had captured The Fly Card. I thought this could be your chance."

He smiled as he kissed her softly and then carried her in his arms. "I love you, Sakura." Li jumped into the hole and then flew to his house, whispering that he loved her the whole way, letting her know how much he cared for her. In return she would kiss his neck and send shivers up his spine.

They landed at his window and he dropped her off and then as the wings disappeared from his back, he jumped in too. She immediately rushed to him, jumping into his arms. They were both so glad that everything was okay now, the fight was over and they could finally just be together with no worries.

As he unzipped her dress, revealing her creamy-colored back, he kissed it tenderly, working his way up until he kissed her neck and then turned her around and they kissed some more, very passionately. She left to change and he did as well. When Sakura finally emerged, he already had slipped into his bed. She watched the rising of his bare chest and smiled to herself, watching his face, his closed eyes.

She smiled, knowing her secret as she lied down beside him. He opened his eyes in a flash as he felt her bare skin, at first thinking that it was her arms but then as he looked up and saw that she was staring down at him, he realized that the bare skin he was feeling was coming from her upper body. Her whole upper body. She descended slowly, kissing him.

He stopped for a moment, breathing very heavily, "Sakura, I thought you wanted to wait because…"

She silenced him with a kiss, "We are going to wait." Her hands went up to caress his face as she deepened the kiss, making it fully aware that she was enjoying every minute of it.

He stopped her once again, very red in the face. "You know this is going to drive me crazy."

She smiled once more as she softly spoke, "I know." As she kissed him some more, he finally relaxed and just went along with it. Deep in his heart he knew he would never get bored of Sakura. Everyday they spent together, there was never a dull moment, and he thanked his lucky stars that he would be spending the rest of his life like this. Sakura on the other hand, only had to thank one star. Her star.

As the kiss ended, he wrapped his arms around her and she settled on his chest as he closed his eyes and angled his head towards her hair, breathing in the strawberry scent. "I love you."

She smiled before she kissed his chest, "And I love you." They both fell asleep; exhausted from the fight they just had with Alexander.

Somewhere, half way around the world, Tori was eating lunch with Julian. He sighed to himself, stirring his soup over and over again like some sort of zombie.

"Tori?"

He looked up to see Julian smiling at him. "Sorry, Julian."

"Something on your mind?"Julian asked, eating a fourth of a club sandwich in one bite.

Tori kept down his laugh as looked to the sky. "I don't know. You think Sakura's okay? I mean, I know she's seventeen, but I don't know…I just get the feeling that…"

"You're worried about her,"Julian said, getting to the point. Tori looked up and nodded. "Don't be, Tori,"Julian smiled confidently as if hiding a secret. "She's in good hands."

Tori's gaze turned into a stare and his eyes became small slits as he stood up shouting, "Now what is that supposed to mean?! If you know something about that Chinese Gaki and my little sister then you better tell me!"

Julian smiled to himself and continued eating his sandwich.

Eight hours later in Japan, as the sun came up and splashed its way through Li's curtains, he awoke, still holding the woman he loved beside of him. He smiled and then sank down in his bed so that he was eye level with her and then kissed her to wake her up, like he always did. She didn't awaken right away and he kissed her again, surprisingly she kissed back, seeming to be quite awake.

"When did you wake up?"He asked, sliding closer to her.

"Oh…"she said thinking. "About five minutes ago, when I woke you up by kissing your forehead."

She smiled as he put his hand to the spot on his face and then smiled too when he could still feel the wetness of her kiss. "Yeah, I guess you did." He pulled her into a hug and then rolled her on top of him, letting her put her elbows on either side of his body, as she got comfortable. "So what do you want to do today?"

"Umm,"she said, biting her bottom lip and looking towards the ceiling. "Oh, nothing."

"Nothing?"he said playfully.

"Well, if you count this as nothing,"she said kissing him. "Then yeah, nothing."

She lied down on his chest again; feeling and hearing his heart beat below her. She could hear his voice echoing in his body and her ear as he said softly, "I love you, Sakura."

She lifted her head up from his chest and smiled, "I love you too, Li." And as they kissed some more, Li finally relaxed all his muscles and didn't have to worry. 

He finally pulled away suddenly. "What is it Li?"She asked, a little concerned.

"Hear that?"He asked. She looked around, trying to locate the sound and then turned to look back into his eyes, confused.

"No,"she said.

"Exactly." He pulled her closer as he explained. "No Meilin, no Madison and no camcorders." Li smiled sweetly and then looked at her. Sakura's eyes shone brightly as the sun hit them and he felt his heat beat faster as his smile turned to serve a more evil purpose. 

"What?"She asked, smiling with confusion and happiness.

"Come here, you,"he said as he rolled her over and started to kiss her with a hunger he'd never felt before. He smiled between kisses as he realized that Meilin had kept her promise.

"Well, yes and no." Across the street in Meilin's apartment, her and Madison were eating pancakes and drinking milk. Meilin giggled as she zoomed in the camera on the couple, still kissing. "I only told him that he would wake up and not see me. If he doesn't see me, I don't think I've broken my promise, right Madison?"

"Right, Meilin,"Madison said looking into the camera. They laughed some more as they tried to eat their food and watched the couple. "Besides, it took us…um…how long?"

"Seven, eight years."

"Right, it took us that long to get them together, then I think we ought to be able to relish in it,"Madison said, loving her train of logic. "Am I right, Meilin?"

"Of course, Madison,"Meilin said, raising their milk in wine glasses and clinking them together. They both laughed as they prepared to keep watching them from afar.

THE END

So how was it? I hope it wasn't that bad. I've been thinking about writing a sequel, but I don't know what it would be about. I'm almost kind of thinking this is great the way it is. But I don't know. Review! Oh and if you don't like it then don't flame me, constructive criticism please! I'm very sensitive! "Right, whatever!" Who are you? "I'm Iria, from your other fanfic." Oh…I don't know what you're talking about. "You should finish me before I get really mad." Look I don't know what you're talking about but…(holds a gun to my face.) Oh, that fanfic…haha…must have slipped my mind. But this time…(holds up a flamethrower)I'm ready….Bring it!


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